The present invention is in the field of “flat-proofing” pneumatic tires. The present invention is an improved Cellular Tire Liner and Air Chamber System for pneumatic tires that can be utilized with existing one-piece drop center wheels. And is primarily for use in high aspect ratio pneumatic tires. The aspect ratio is the sidewall height of a tire, divided by its maximum section width, Aspect ratios are commonly referred to in percentages of sidewall height relative to tire width
A cellular tire liner lines the interior surface of a pneumatic tire with a given thickness, providing a void in the center of the tire for a subsequently pressurized air chamber. Because the tire liner does not completely fill the interior of the tire, a tire equipped with a “liner” can be mounted onto existing one-piece, Original Equipment Manufactured (O.E.M.) wheels. As almost all tire punctures encountered during driving penetrate the tire maybe a couple of inches, the Cellular Tire Liner and Air Chamber System of the present invention will make a tire blow-out proof and flat-proof. Because the entire volume of compressed air inside the tire can never be lost due to a puncture, or if a portion of the tire fails. And in the event a puncture does penetrate all the way through the liner and depressurizes the air chamber, the liner itself provides sufficient load-bearing capability to allow the vehicle to be driven to a safe location to change the tire. Depressurizing the air chamber is the equivalent of releasing that same volume of compressed air out of a regular tire. The tire would be “low”, but it still could be driven to a safe location.
High tire deflections cannot result in an extreme tension load being placed on a tire liner. A tire liner for a high aspect ratio tire should be under a compression load only.